Nun who gave birth didn't know she was pregnant

A nun who gave birth to a baby boy in the central Italian city of Rieti, said she had no idea she was pregnant. The 31-year-old was rushed to hospital with abdominal pains, which she thought were stomach cramps.

The young mother, who is originally from El Salvador, reportedly named her newborn Francis after the current Pope. The mayor of Rieti, Simone Petrangeli has appealed to the public and media to respect the woman's privacy.



The nun called the ambulance on Wednesday morning. A few hours later she gave birth to a healthy baby boy. "I did not know I was pregnant. I only felt a stomach pain," she said. People at the hospital have begun collecting clothes and donations for the mother and her child.

The woman belongs to a convent near Rieti, which manages an old people's home. Fellow nuns at the convent said they were "surprised" by the news. Local pastor Don Fabrizio Borrello said that the nun planned to take care of the baby. "I guess she's telling the truth when she says she arrived at the hospital unaware of the pregnancy."